Pippa Lamb, a partner at Sweet Capital, unexpectedly found herself auditioning for a role on the hit HBO show “Industry” after a casual comment to the show’s co-creator, Mickey Down. The show’s third season centers around the fictional bank Pierpoint and its preparations for an IPO, delving into the world of ESG investing and merging tech, media, government, and finance. Down and his co-creator, Konrad Kay, created a character described as a “young VC investor” and immediately thought of Lamb for the role.
Lamb’s cameo on the show features her as an investor in Lumi, the energy company in the storyline. She appears on a podium during an IPO and in a boardroom when things go awry for the company. Lamb was impressed by the attention to detail on set, with the production sets of the tech company feeling eerily similar to a regular day at work.
Blurring the lines between reality and fiction is a common technique in television to keep audiences engaged. Shows like “Entourage,” “Billions,” and the “Gossip Girl” reboot have incorporated real-life people and industries to create an authentic portrayal. Lamb, despite having no acting experience, provided insights to the wardrobe department on how to style tech people, and actors sought her guidance on mimicking the founder-board member relationship.
The attention to detail extends beyond costumes. The creators of “Industry” aimed to capture the nuances of tech founders, even incorporating deliberate costume choices like a slightly messed-up collar on Henry Muck’s shirt to reflect his disorganized CEO character. The show also drew inspiration from real-life finance and tech personalities, with Down and Kay revealing that some of the stories they were told were so unbelievable that they seemed like fictional plotlines.
“Industry” also reflects the current trend of portraying tech moguls as the villains of the modern financial age. While Wall Street figures were once the mysterious miscreants, tech moguls now represent the frontier of change and operate in a bubble that the general population finds somewhat intimidating. The show’s earlier seasons focused on the public markets, but season 3 marks the beginning of its exploration into the world of technology.
The character of Henry Muck, played by Kit Harrington, embodies a British tech archetype rather than an American one. He is highly educated, privileged, and carries the weight of societal expectations, creating a balance between getting away with everything and feeling insecure about living up to his background. The show chose to focus on the energy sector to add depth to Henry Muck’s backstory as the founder of an ESG company, highlighting the challenges of balancing purpose and shareholder profit.
ESG investing is a hot topic, and the show leaves it up to the audience to form their own opinions on the subject. It explores the tension between bottom lines and altruism, care and corruption, as Henry Muck navigates the demands of investors and users of the service. The show also incorporates other commentaries on the tech landscape, such as employees sleeping in nap pods, CEO temper tantrums, and the influence of tweet-rumor mills.
While there is no news of a season 4 yet, Down and Kay suggest that if it happens, the show will continue to delve deeper into the world of technology, as the industry has disrupted every sector. As for Lamb, her future on the show remains uncertain as she focuses on her real-life work with Sweet Capital.
